I just discovered this product line while looking at miscellaneous travel products -- these are designed to protect chips in passports issued after 2006 and in newer credit cards -- from identity theft which can be 'read' through purses, pockets not carried in an "RFID blocker" (wallet, passport holder). Are you familiar with this? How common is this theft? This is a new one to my husband and me, but they are not terribly expensive, in the big picture, is it necessary or truly advisable? Your thoughts and experience please....
RFID blocking for for passports, credit cards
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Hi, can you post a link to this? I find it hard to envisage how this works without some more info.
Thanks
Lavandula
Not a big concern for me travel a lot here is a link
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification
Some passports have them can be a good thing if lost.
"Skimming" of debit cards the biggest issue
U are up to 100% liable I never travel with Debit Card
Use my Venture capitalone.com (Double Miles on everything)
and Chase Sapphire Card for back up
0 foreign fees and 0 liability to me if stolen.
Keep my passport in my money belt never in room safes
have never had a problem.
I did have my identity stolen "skimmed" my PIN ATM
in CR through a Colombian
Bank scammer dinged the credit card company for $15OK
a few years back... thankfully Chase ate it all.
If that would have been a DEBIT card I would have
been liable... was a nightmare because they also
change your address so you will not get your statements
so you do not know of the crime.
Took me 6 months a car closure but I eventually regained
my identity and my credit rating.
So be careful big bank ATMS only for me...
There's info on the insecurity of the RFID chip on passports at hasbrouck.org. I renewed my US passport right before they started putting the chips in, in the hope that in ten years the security would have improved....
Hmm, we have Chase Preferred Sapphire too as well as a MC, but would use a debit card for ATM withdrawals to avoid interest charges using credit cards. Anyway, for the low price of these 'covers' to prevent any/all, we might just get them and be done with it. Thanks for your input. You can find sample products under "Pac Safe purses, wallets" but my local luggage store carries these RFID products so will go have a look.
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There are RFID pockets that you can buy to preevnt your card from being read by a scanner. However, most of them doesn't work all that well, including the more expensive ones at $60.
Below is the link to an article in Consumer report.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2011/june/money/credit-card-fraud/rfid-credit-cards/index.htm
Following the article from Cosnumer report, I made my own by using tin foil. It seems to work as it didn't register when I waved it (in the home made pocket).
Tin foil and clear duct tape. That's it!